IPL 2022: Rashid Khan is one of the most sought-after players in T20 cricket. Any team would love to have a bowler like him in their squad because he is well-equipped to face any type of challenge in T20s.
Moreover, he has gained a formidable experience in playing various T20 leagues all across the world. He was one of the key players of Sunrisers Hyderabad set-up. However, the franchise released him ahead of the auction.
The SRH ran through chaos in the last IPL season for obvious reasons. They didn’t seem to show any sign of interest to win games as they lost 11 games out of 14 games in the league stage.
SRH finished the season at the bottom of the points table. The franchise had a major overhaul as they let go almost all the players. However, they preferred to retain Kane Williamson, Umran Malik and Abdul Samad. READ MORE: Ravi Shastri Predicts Uncapped Umran Malik To Play For Team India Soon
Most of the fans were taken aback after the franchise parted ways with Rashid Khan. Gujarat Titans purchased the services of Afghanistan international for Rs 15 crore ahead of the mega auction.
Rashid Khan has played four games for the Ahmedabad-based franchise. He has accounted for six dismissals in four games at an average of 17.83. He is expected to make a telling impact this season for GT. ALSO READ: Ravichandran Ashwin Became The First Ever Player Who Retired Out In IPL History
IPL 2022: Muttiah Muralitharan reveals the reason behind not retaining Rashid Khan
As per the reports, Rashid Khan wanted to be the first retention of the SRH franchise. However, SRH team management had other ideas in place. They wanted Kane Williamson to take that position and salary.
This meant that Rashid Khan was the second option. However, that wasn’t meant to be the case as SRH retained two uncapped Indian bowlers – Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad spin-bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan revealed the reason behind not retaining talented Rashid Khan for the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.
The former Sri Lankan international had confirmed a report during an interaction with Star Sports. “We didn’t want to get rid off Rashid Khan, but we couldn’t afford him,” he added in a statement.
On the other hand, Gujarat Titans could largely benefit from Rashid Khan’s services this season, with the captain Hardik Pandya calling Rashid Khan as his trump card. He said he would use Rashid when the situation demands.
“He’s my trump card and I’ll use him when the situation needs it. In the worst situation, I know that he’ll get me out of that. So it was a simple tactical decision, where I wanted him to be there when people start hitting. Because that’s where he’s the most dangerous,” Hardik Pandya added.
The post IPL 2022: Muttiah Muralitharan Explains Why Sunrisers Hyderabad Didn’t Retain Rashid Khan appeared first on The12thMan.
